Bangkok-Based Nahm Tops Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants

What goes up must come down, and sometimes vice versa—just look at S. Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants

David Thompson (second from right), the chef behind Nahm in Bangkok.

Nahm, Australian chef David Thompson’s Bangkok restaurant that serves cuisine based on Thai memorial-book recipes, nudged Les Creations de Narisawa in Tokyo from the top of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014 list, announced Monday night in Singapore. Last year, Nahm ranked No. 3 on the list, and its new position means Narisawa has dropped to second place.

“I actually placed bets that I would go down in the rankings, and I lost,” said Mr. Thompson, speaking by phone from a chef’s lunch Tuesday. “I was absolutely astonished and surprised. I think there were a lot of other restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and other parts of the region that are as good as ours if not better.”

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Restaurants in Singapore and Thailand did well on this year’s list, with Thailand grabbing two of the three top spots, and Southeast Asia as a whole appearing 14 times on the list of 50 restaurants.

Molecular Indian restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok shot to No. 3 on the list, up seven spots from its 10th-place ranking last year. French restaurant Amber in Hong Kong retained its No. 4 position, and Nihonryori RyuGin in Tokyo came in at No. 5, down from No. 2.

The regional list, in its second year, is derived from the global S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, released annually since its launch 12 years ago. Restaurants are voted on by more than 900 people across the world—an anonymous mix of chefs and restaurateurs, food writers and critics, and food experts or “well-traveled gastronomes,” according to William Drew, group editor for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Voters are rotated annually, with about a third changed every year.

Though Thailand ranked at the top of the list, the country that racked up the most mentions was China, including Hong Kong and Macau, home to 16 of the 50 restaurants.

Hong Kong alone counted nine. In mainland China, Shanghai had the most entries, with French chef Paul Pairet’s Ultraviolet and Mr & Mrs Bund at Nos. 8 and 11, respectively. No restaurants in Beijing were included.

Japan was second with 10 restaurants in the top 50, ahead of Singapore’s eight. Singapore’s collection includes two in the top 10: Restaurant André (No. 6) and Waku Ghin (No. 7). Iggy’s, No. 9 last year, slipped to No. 12.

Luke Duggleby for The Wall Street Journal

A dish at Nahm

There were plenty of newcomers this year, and more regional diversity than on the inaugural list. Last year, restaurants in South Korea were absent—a slight explored by our sister blog Korea Real Time—but this year Seoul restaurant Jungsik, which serves “new Korean fine dining,” made its debut at No. 20, the highest ranking for new entry. Other new names include Tokyo’s Tippling Club (No. 23), Issaya Siamese Club (No. 31) in Bangkok and Bali’s Sarong (No. 47).

Mr. Drew said that voters were offered “no criteria” for selection, but were simply asked to name their top seven restaurants in the world. “Everyone’s idea of what makes a great restaurant is different,” he said, noting that casual restaurants like Yardbird and Sarong are listed alongside “gilded temples of gastronomy.”

So, how meaningful is the list?

“One thing to remember is there are only 50 restaurants listed, and 50 is a very small number,” said Mr. Drew. “It’s an inexact science, but we still believe it still creates a credible snapshot of great restaurants in the region.”

Below is the list of Southeast Asia’s mentions. For a full list, go to Scene Asia. We’d also like to hear your thoughts. What do you think of the rankings and which restaurants would you add? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

About Southeast Asia Real Time

Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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